


Friends Keep Secrets

by ultraviolentluv



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Party, Coming Out, Fluff, Friendship, GAY/LESBIAN SOLIDARITY, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Happy Ending, Internalized Homophobia, Platonic Relationships, Self-Acceptance, Sibling Bonding, gay will, like it’s 1985 so it’s not exactly cool and fun to admit to yourself you’re gay, post-season 3, social acceptance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-23 15:32:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19704289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultraviolentluv/pseuds/ultraviolentluv
Summary: Will confides in El about something he’s never said out loud before. (Post-season 3.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> takes place after the end of season 3 so spoilers! i just felt like writing something sweet for will and el’s friendship/new sibling relationship. will is definitely gay.

The new school isn’t bad. It’s no Hawkins Middle School, but the people are friendly and since Will has El, moving has felt a little less lonely.

El loves school. She still doesn’t have her powers back, but the “normalcy” has made it easier for her to make friends this time around. She wants to be in the play, and Will’s trying to join the stage crew. Everything is good.

Everything, of course, except for one thing. Will is quieter here. Maybe it’s because he misses the old party, and he’s struggling to think of any common interests to share with classmates that isn’t D&D, and maybe it’s because he wants to see his new sister make friends and live vicariously through her. Maybe it’s because he’s still traumatized and doesn’t want to scare anyone away or mess anything up.

Or maybe it’s because there’s only one boy in school he’s even thought about talking to, but never ever could.

When he was still in Hawkins, Will started sensing something wasn’t right with himself. It was different than when he could sense the Mind Flayer, but just as strong, and almost felt worse. He loved his friends and he knew his friends loved him, but he couldn’t understand being so obsessed with girls. He couldn’t imagine even wanting a girlfriend, let alone kissing one. He loved El and Max, but he loved them just as he loved Lucas and Dustin and Jonathan. Kissing them was out of the question.

He’d still definitely thought about kissing before, though. Sometimes at night, he’d lightly peck the back of his hand before wrapping his arms around himself and falling asleep with tears in his eyes. He hoped El had never spied on him like that. He always felt so terrible, so guilty, so absolutely alone. He hated seeing Mike kiss El because sometimes, maybe once in a while, Will thought about Mike kissing him like that.

But since moving, he’s left behind his feelings for Mike. Will watches El’s long distance relationship with Mike through phone calls and postcards and Christmas calendar countdowns, and he’s happy for them. Mike is his best friend again. The distance makes it easier.

Now, at his new school, Will feels these things all over again for a new face. This time, it isn’t even somebody who knows him. Just some boy named Jacob who sits two rows ahead of him in science. For the first time in a long time, Will finds it difficult to concentrate in class even when the material is especially intriguing. It doesn’t matter that Jacob seems to have nothing in common with him, or that he plays sports, or that he flirts with all of El’s new friends. Jacob is the only person Will finds himself thinking about, and yet nobody can ever know.

That is, of course, until El comes into his room one day and asks him what’s wrong.

“What do you mean? I’m fine,” he says. He hunches over his desk and stares down at the science homework he’s struggling to understand. His notebook is completely devoid of notes.

“Friends don’t lie,” El reminds him. “And I’m your sister. You can tell me.”

“But nothing’s wrong.”

“Will.” El touches his hand and stares at him. “I know you’re not sleeping. You don’t eat. You don’t talk. And now your homework is hard. You loved science.” Her voice is steady, and Will gives in to meet her gaze. Even with her powers gone, it still feels like she can see inside his head. He doesn’t like feeling this vulnerable with anyone. “Are you having bad dreams?”

“No,” he says. He licks his lips and swallows hard. He can’t tell her the truth, but he can’t bear to lie.

“Is it something about the upside down? We’re safe now. I closed the gate. Mom closed the gate. And we’re not in Hawkins anymore.”

“No, El, I’m... It’s not about the upside down.” Will puts his head down on his desk and closes his eyes tight. “I can’t tell you what it is.”

“Why?”

“Because... it’s bad. You’d hate me,” he whispers. He tries to swallow the lump in his throat, but it stays put. He’s trying his very best not to cry. “Please just go.”

El is quiet for a while. She pulls her hand away from his, but stays kneeling on the floor. “I will never hate you,” she finally says. “You’re my brother. And friends don’t tell secrets.”

Will sniffles and lifts his head. Silent tears roll down his face as he looks at her. “Do you promise?” he asks.

“I promise.”

El takes Will’s hand and makes their pinkies link together. They shake on it, and Will finally lets himself crumble right in front of her.

“El, something’s wrong with me. Something bad,” he starts. “Do you... remember how the guys made fun of me for not wanting a girlfriend?” El nods. “Okay. I still don’t want a girlfriend.”

El looks around the room, unbothered. “So?”

“But I- I have... I want... I... like boys. I like boys.” Will puts his face in his hands. He absolutely cannot believe that he’s finally said it out loud, and to another living person at that.

“Do you have a crush?” El asks. Her voice is still just as gentle and steady as before. Not angry, not disappointed.

“Yes,” Will whispers.

“Mike?” El asks. Will looks up again and frantically shakes his head.

“No, no, no. Not Mike. Not... not anymore,” he says. “But someone else. At school. He’s... popular. I think you’re friends with him.”

“Who?”

“I... Jacob. Um, Jacob Baker. But El, you can’t tell him, you can’t tell anyon—“

“Friends keep secrets,” she repeats. “I won’t tell anyone. Not even Mom. Does she know?”

“No. Nobody knows. Except you now,” Will says. Even though he still feels terrified and sick inside, he starts to smile. “You don’t think I’m weird?” he asks.

“No!” El insists. “You’re not weird. You’re my brother.” She wraps her arms around him and they embrace. “I love you, Will. Thank you for telling me.”

“I love you too, El.”

They hug for a little while longer, only interrupted by Joyce calling them to dinner from downstairs.

“Coming!” they yell in unison. They race each other down the stairs, and for the first time in a while, Will feels happy again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally i was just gonna have this fic be a one chapter thing but then i realized i wanna elaborate on it. so maybe there will be 3 or 4 parts in total? it wont be too long. i just need more gay will content and so do all of you!

On Halloween, El and Will go trick-or-treating together. They don’t care that they might be getting too old for it; free candy is free candy, and they’ll be damned if they don’t get to dress up together. After a VHS binge of the _Star Wars_ trilogy at the start of the month, it was decided that Will would be Luke Skywalker, lightsaber and all, and El would be Princess Leia, complete with a “space buns” wig. Joyce takes a few hundred photos of them before letting them go out, reminding them to be very careful and to come home at the first sign of trouble.

They score bagfuls of candy that nearly overflow by the time they’re finally home, including some king-sized candy bars from the wealthier neighborhood across town. Once the scavenging is said and done, they camp out in El’s bedroom, feasting on their treasures and playing some of Jonathan’s old cassette tapes on the stereo.

As El finishes a packet of M&Ms, she turns down the music a tad and leans in close to her brother. “Hey,” she half-whispers. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Will responds. He unwraps another mini Reese’s cup and pops it into his mouth.

“Well, I’ve just been curious,” El says, “if you still have a crush on Jason.”

Will presses his lips together and looks down at the floor. They haven’t really talked about this since he came out to her over a month ago. El has kept her promise of not telling a soul, and for that, Will has been beyond grateful. Holding this secret inside of him feels like the safest way to exist as an unknown outsider. At school, people don’t go out of their way to talk to him, but they don’t have anything against him, either. If anyone found out about his secret, life would become hell. He may have survived paranormal monsters and being taken to an alternate dimension in his past, but if there’s one thing he can’t stand up against, it’s asshole teenagers.

“Yeah, kinda,” he finally says. “I mean, I try not to think about it. You know? Like, if I obsess over it, it’s not gonna make it any better. This is probably gonna happen a lot, too. Like, when I get older, I’ll probably have crushes on lots of different peop— guys.” He exhales heavily at the thought, as if the mere idea of recognizing his feelings is too exhausting to bear. “But it’ll never work out, so... What’s the point in fawning over it at all, you know?”

El tilts her head to the side and stares at him. “But what if you fall in love someday?” she asks.

“I won’t,” he says. “I can’t. That’s not how it works.”

“Yes it is.” El picks another piece of candy from her bag and peels the wrapper off slowly, thinking. “I know someone else like you.”

“Like me?”

“At our school. I can’t tell you who she is because I promised I’d keep her secret too. But she likes girls. And she has a girlfriend. In secret.”

“So there are two girls who like girls at our school, then? If they’re dating?”

“Yes. I’m only friends with one of them, but I guess technically I know her girlfriend too. So I know two people who are like you.”

Will stares at his lightsaber across the room and spaces out, smiling a bit to himself. Someone else is like him. He’s not the only one.

“You should be friends with my friends,” El says. “They really wanna be friends with you. But I just never wanna make you hang out with us. So you don’t have to. But you should try.”

“They’re all girls. Wouldn’t that be weird? One boy friends with like, five girls?”

“It’s not weird,” she says. “And we have other friends who are boys.”

“Like who?”

“Like... Christopher Mays, and Kevin Krause, and...” El pauses with a grin. “...Jason.”

Will blushes a bit and hides his face in his costume. “El!”

“I’m serious though. You can join us. We want to have you.” El puts her hands over Will’s, like she’s protecting him. “You’re not weird. If my friends think I’m normal, then they’ll think you’re normal too.”

Just as Will opens his mouth to respond, Joyce knocks on the door and walks in. “Hey, kiddos, just remember to be in bed by ten-thirty. You still have school tomorrow.” The two nod silently and smile. Joyce raises an eyebrow. “What are you two so hush-hush about?” she asks.

“I’m just telling Will that he should be part of my friend group,” El explains.

Joyce smiles at them. “Yeah, Will, you should!” she encourages. “Okay. Well, as long as my bedtime warning is heeded, you guys keep doing what you’re doing. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” they chime back. Once the door is closed, Will leans back against the base of El’s bedframe.

“Are you ever gonna tell her?” El asks, curious.

“Maybe,” Will says. “But not now. When I’m ready.”

“When you’re ready,” El agrees. The music comes back up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the gang’s all here!

“Come on, guys! Put your stuff in the back, let’s get going!” Joyce calls from the car, the driver’s side window rolled down so she can yell up the driveway. Will and El run towards the car, Jonathan trailing awkwardly behind them, ugly Christmas sweaters on all three of them. They throw their suitcases in the trunk and climb in the backseat as Jonathan calls shotgun. They have a small road trip ahead of them, and one they’ve been waiting on for months. It’s time for Christmas in Hawkins.

Mike had come for Thanksgiving break last month, which was as fun as it was awkward. It was great to see their best friend (and for El, her boyfriend) again, but keeping Will’s secret on lockdown was a tad anxiety-inducing. Joyce enforced the old three-inch door rule from Hopper, but it didn’t work out the same in the new house. El’s bedroom is right across from Will’s, which meant Will had to close his own door and turn up his radio, or else risk hearing the sound of his best friends’ lips smacking together. Not the ideal way to spend his turkey day.

But now, Will knows he’ll be reunited with the whole party, which is something to look forward to. The plan is to stay in Hawkins through New Year’s, with Jonathan and Will staying with the Wheelers, El staying with Max and her mom — Billy’s father left them in Hawkins after Billy’s death — and Joyce staying with an old friend for the week. The excitement bubbles in their chests as Joyce starts down the road.

When they arrive at the Wheeler household, Will and El run up to the door so fast they nearly slip on the icy walkway. They press the doorbell together as Jonathan and Joyce walk up slowly, presents in hand. Mike opens the door and instantly shrieks. He wraps his arms around both of them and hugs them tight.

“The Byers family is here!” he screams into his house. Nancy runs down the tinsel-strung stairwell and into Jonathan’s arms, squealing excitedly.

“Come on, you guys have to come downstairs!” Mike says. “Everyone’s been waiting for you!”

They run down to the basement, El grabbing Mike’s hand, and are instantly greeted with excited shouts from the whole party. Everyone stands up and runs over to the two to smother them with the world’s biggest group hug. Will then goes to individually hug Max, Lucas, Dustin, and...

“I’m Suzie!” the unfamiliar girl exclaims. “I’ve been so excited to meet you!” She hugs Will and El as they shoot surprised expressions Dustin’s way.

“Don’t look so shocked!” Dustin exclaims. “You all heard her voice!”

They all laugh and sit down in a circle on the floor. Upstairs, the doorbell rings again. They ignore it in favor of catching up with their two very-much-missed friends.

“We have so much to tell you,” Max says.

“So do we,” Will says, internally scolding himself right after.

“Oh? Like what?” Lucas asks.

“Like, uh... El’s _popular.”_

El giggles and leans against Mike. Everything is good here.

“Still no powers, El?” Max asks. El shakes her head.

“No. No powers. But it’s okay. I don’t really need them anymore,” she says with a hum.

Footsteps thunder down the stairs, and the party turns to see Jonathan and Nancy followed by none other than Steve Harrington and the legendary Robin.

“My kids!” Steve shouts. “I missed you guys!” He ruffles their hair as he walks past them to sit in the corner with Robin.

“Hey, watch the hair!” Will yells. “How would you feel if I messed up the wonderful Harrington fluff?”

“The Byers bowl-cut has nothing on this majestic beauty, kid,” Steve says, combing his fingers through his hair. Robin rolls her eyes and shoves him.

The next hour or two is spent eating Christmas cookies, catching up, making jokes, and enjoying a very special performance of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by none other than Dustin and Suzie themselves. It feels as though the Byers never left Hawkins.

“Will!” Steve eventually yells from across the room. “All this talk about how El’s so popular now, but what about you? Have you become a royal ladies’ man yet?”

Will’s cheeks burn up and he fidgets with his hands. He knows they don’t know his secret, he knows nobody is making fun of him, and yet it still feels like they can all see right through him, just waiting on him to fumble with the wrong words and out himself. Would he be safe here? El may have taken it well, but El also spent the first twelve years of her life isolated from other children in a sadistic government laboratory. Everyone else in this room grew up going to church or hearing the word “queer” thrown around on TV and at school.

But he’s overthinking this and he knows it. So with a gulp, he chuckles quietly and says, “Yeah. Totally. You know me, I have all the social skills in the world with my... non-nerdy interests and irresistible athletic ability.”

Everyone laughs at that, just as he wanted. Avoiding the truth with sarcasm always seems to work when he wants it to. He catches a strange glance from Robin, but tries to shake it away. She can’t know anything. They’ve barely ever communicated.

And then, after Christmas dinner, Robin finds Will coming out of the bathroom and scares him.

“Hey,” she says, giving him half a heart attack. “Can I talk to you?”

“Um. Sure, I guess?” he mumbles.

“You know I’m Steve’s best friend, yeah?”

“Yeah...?”

“So he probably hasn’t told you, but back when all that shit was happening in July, I told him something. A secret.”

Will feels his heart drop through his stomach. She definitely knows. This girl, who he worked with to destroy the Mind Flayer and yet barely really knows, knows his biggest secret.

“Okay,” is all he says.

“This may come as a shock to you, but I’m a lesbian, Will,” Robin says. “I’m a girl who likes girls.”

Will’s mouth runs dry. “That’s- that’s cool. That’s really cool. I’m, um, really happy for you,” he stammers.

“Will, honey, I’m telling you because I know you’re gay.”

“Gay?” Will repeats. He feels faint. He hasn’t said that word until now. And yet, something about it feels... right. Like it finds its own place in his mouth.

“I can see it in your eyes,” Robin says. “And I just want you to know that it’s okay. I won’t tell anybody as long as I live. But I need you to know you aren’t alone. And you’re not strange or dumb or hopeless. That’s all.”

Before he realizes what he’s doing, Will has wrapped himself around Robin and is half-crying, half-laughing into her shoulder. She returns the hug and tries to calm him down the best she can. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry,” she says. “It’s okay. You’re alright.”

Years of fear seem to shed off his back, like a snake molting its old skin. He still has his secret, but it’s not something he has to hate himself for anymore. He’s gay. He’s gay and he’s safe.

“Are you okay?” Robin asks after what feels like forever. Will pulls away from her and wipes his face with his green sweater sleeve.

“Yeah, I’m... I’m good,” he says. “Thank you. Seriously, thank you, Robin. Please don’t tell anyone. But thank you so much.”

Robin smiles and ruffles his hair lightly. “I’m just doing what I wish someone could’ve done for me,” she says. “Coming out is really hard. Steve was the first person I told. I’ve told a few other friends since then, and now you. But you’re really lucky to have the friends you have. Something tells me that if you ever decide to tell them, nothing could go wrong. Really. That’s a very special thing to have.”

Will nods. “Yeah.” He rubs his eyes again and looks down the hallway. “We should probably go back to them. They might think I died in the bathroom.” Robin simply smiles at him.


	4. Chapter 4

“I’m gay. Guys, I’m gay. I like boys. Hey, I’m gay. No. God.”

Will presses his forehead against the mirror in Mike’s bathroom and sighs. Ever since talking to Robin a couple days ago, Will has wanted nothing more than to let his best friends know who he really is. However, he’s learning that said concept is much easier fantasized about than done. He just can’t seem to find the right words. Should he be blunt and straight to the point? Or tiptoe around it and have them fill in the blanks?

Mike knocks on the bathroom door, interrupting Will’s train of thought. “You almost done in there?” he asks. “I need to shower too.”

“Yeah, sorry!” Will calls back. He turns off the shower water, which he left running to drown out his whispers. He changes into his pajamas and carries his clothes out of the bathroom, back to his suitcase in the guest room, where Jonathan’s set up. He walks down to Mike’s room and gets inside his sleeping bag. He nearly drifts to sleep waiting on Mike to come back.

When Mike finally comes down and sits on his bed, he looks down at Will. “So what’s it like being El’s brother?” he asks.

“It’s fun. It’s nice having my best friend with me everywhere I go. And her friends are really nice to me at school, so that’s good too. She’s just a really good person,” he says. “What’s it like being El’s boyfriend?”

Mike sticks his tongue out at Will. “Like the coolest thing in the world,” he gushes. “It sucks not being able to see you guys that much anymore. I wish you could stay in Hawkins forever.”

“Yeah,” Will says quietly. He gives Mike a small smile before shifting in his sleeping bag. “Well, goodnight, I guess. We’re going sledding with everyone tomorrow, right?”

“Yup. Same place as always,” Mike confirms. “Goodnight.”

Mike turns off his lamp and turns towards the wall to sleep. Will can’t keep his eyes shut. He stares into the darkness, unable to keep his mind quiet. The minutes feel like hours, and once an hour has passed, it feels like an eternity. His chest hurts and his jaw aches. This secret is a heavy weight in his bones, spreading everywhere and making him feel ill. He wants to let go.

“Mike?” he finally whispers, knowing it’s a literal shot in the dark. “Are you awake?”

Mike rolls over in his bed to look at Will. “Yeah,” he says. “I can’t sleep. I’m too excited for tomorrow.”

“Me too,” Will says. He wants to spill over so bad.

“Are you okay?” Mike asks after a long pause, like he can feel the tension in the air.

Will looks at Mike, then back at the ceiling. “I have to tell you something,” he whispers.

“Is it something good? Or something bad?”

“I don’t know,” Will confesses. “I think that’s up to you.”

“Okay,” Mike says. “So tell me.”

Will clenches his jaw for a while. The words are right there on his tongue, just waiting to be said, and yet they won’t leave.

“Will?”

Will turns towards Mike and inhales. “I’m gay,” he finally says. A shiver runs down his spine as he exhales a heavy breath. “I’m gay,” he repeats, like this time he’s telling himself.

“You’re gay?” Mike asks.

“Yes,” he says. “You were right that day in the garage back in summer. I don’t like girls. But I like boys.”

Mike nods slowly as he processes this new information. Will’s stomach churns as he waits for his friend to say something, anything, to make it alright. Finally: “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, that’s cool. You’re gay! Do you have a boyfriend or anything?”

“No. I’m still a huge nerd,” Will laughs. Mike smiles.

“That’s okay. I hope you find a nerdy guy. Is there anyone at your new school?”

“I’ve had a crush on someone... But I’m kinda over it now and I don’t think anyone else at my school is like me. Any guys, anyway.”

“Maybe eventually though?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

They smile at each other, and Mike fist-bumps Will. “I’m still really sorry about being so mean to you last summer,” he says. “It was stupid. I didn’t know what I was saying.”

“I know,” Will says. “I forgive you.”

The next morning, everyone meets up on top of the snow-covered hill with their sleds in hand. As Dustin, Suzie, Lucas, and Max all stand around chattering, Will walks up to them, chest puffed with an air of adolescent confidence.

“Guys, I have something to tell you,” he says. El and Mike turn towards him and furrow their eyebrows at each other. Will’s hands shake, but he stands as tall as he can make himself. “You’re my best friends - even you, Suzie, as an honorary party member,” he starts. Suzie smiles. “So I just wanted to let you guys know that I... that I’m gay.”

The four of them pause for a minute, then instantly break into cheers.

“Hell yeah, Will!” Dustin yells. “Will! Will! Will! Will!”

“Oh, stop it,” Will laughs. Everyone joins in with Dustin’s chanting though, circling around him and pumping their fists in the air. “Will! Will! Will! Will! Will!”

They all crowd around him for another group hug, and El rests her head on Will’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you,” she whispers.

Will smiles at her with tears in his eyes, overwhelmed by the unexpected support from his friends. “I love you,” he says back to her. “I love all of you guys! So much!”

They spend the rest of the day sledding and begging Dustin and Suzie to sing for them. And by the time New Year’s comes, Will isn’t afraid at all anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the end! thats all im doin for this little fic. hope it was so cheesy and sweet that ur teeth rot! will byers deserves to be loved and cherished and no i wont be taking any questions on this! bye!  
> (if u want follow me on tumblr @/strangerlesbians)


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